Destiny Rising (The Vampire Diaries 10)

She. Not Ethan, then, but one of his followers.

Stefan led the way toward the door quietly, Zander padding at his side, Meredith just behind him with her stave ready. He was aware of Matt and the rest of the Pack, tense and alert, hanging back to give them room.

With a sudden brutal kick, Stefan burst through the door, raising his arms to fend off an attack.

At the end of the room farthest from the door, a curly-haired girl cowered, her arms up to protect her face, her eyes wide with fright. She looked so vulnerable that Stefan hesitated for a moment, even though he knew immediately what she was.

Meredith shot past him and held her stave to the girl's chest, right above her heart.

"No!" Matt shouted from the doorway, pushing his way through the crowd of werewolves. "Stop, you guys. " He crossed the room and stopped in front of the girl. The girl lowered her arms, her face wondering.

"Matt?" she whispered.

"Oh, Chloe," Matt said mournfully. He raised a hand toward her but hesitated before making contact, his hand hanging in midair.

Matt's friend Chloe, Stefan remembered. Chloe, the first girl Matt had seemed to care about since he'd dated Elena, since before Stefan had met him.

Matt's hand dropped back to his side and Stefan wondered if Matt was remembering the vicious murderer his friend Beth had become, if he was already resigning himself to Chloe's fate.

"Where are the other vampires?" Meredith asked coldly, pressing the stave against the other girl's chest.

"They've gone to the woods," Chloe said in a small, terrified voice. "They're going to do the resurrection spell there. "

Stefan shook his head. "Ethan can't do the resurrection spell without Damon's blood

," he said, hearing the almost pleading tone in his own voice.

Chloe half shrugged, looking back and forth between him and the others. "I don't know," she said helplessly. "He said he had everything he needed. "

Ethan had cut Damon during the fight. It was just possible that he had managed to collect some blood, or find enough after the battle, for what he needed. Stefan swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Why aren't you with them?" Meredith asked.

"I didn't want to go," the girl said, her voice shaking. Her gaze settled on Matt, and she frowned anxiously, as if it was important that Matt understand her. "I feel like . . . with part of me I feel like Ethan is the center of the universe, but with my mind, I know how terrible he is. I'm trying to fight it. I don't want to hurt anyone. " Her eyes were full of tears, and Matt clenched his jaw, looking miserable and uncertain.

"You're trying to fight off the sire bond," Stefan said gently. "It's hard, but it can be done. And your compulsion toward Ethan will wear off before long. You can reject this life if you really want to. "

"I want to," Chloe said desperately. "Please. Can you help me?"

Stefan began to speak, but Matt broke in. "Stop," he said again. "Stefan, Beth said the same thing - that she didn't want to hurt anyone, that she needed help. But she was lying. "

Zander, swift and silent, padded forward. Approaching Chloe slowly, he sniffed at her hands. He rose up on his back legs, placing his front paws on Chloe's shoulders. She cringed, but he nosed her face unconcernedly and, for a long moment, stared directly into her eyes.

"Is she telling us the truth?" Meredith asked.

The huge white wolf dropped back to all fours and turned away, glancing at the human-formed members of his Pack.

"He says she's being honest," Daniel reported, "but that she's weak. Fighting her nature is almost too much for her. "

Chloe sobbed, a rough, hopeless sound.

Meredith, still poised with her stave for the kill, raised a questioning eyebrow at Stefan, irresolute. Matt turned to him, too, his eyes shining with anxious hope. They were all looking to him, he realized, to make the decision.

"We'll help you," he said slowly, "but first you need to help us. "

Matt let out a breath of relief and closed the distance between him and Chloe. She leaned against him gratefully but nodded at Stefan, tears running down her face. "If you want to stop Ethan," she said, "we'll have to hurry. "

Chapter 7